Classification:
Botanical: Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULgo002xe2x80x99.
Commercial: Miniature.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing between an unnamed and unpatented variety, and xe2x80x98POULrijkxe2x80x99, described and illustrated in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/261,445, dated Mar. 3, 1999. The two parents were crossed during the summer of 1994 and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99.
The new variety may be distinguished from its seed parent, an unnamed seedling, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 has coral-pink flowers, whereas the seed parent has pink flowers.
2. xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 exhibits pendulant to procumbent growth, while the seed parent has compact, upright growth.
The new rose may be distinguished from its pollen parent, xe2x80x98POULrijkxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULrijkxe2x80x99 is a ground cover shrub rose, whereas xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 is a miniature rose.
2. xe2x80x98POULrijkxe2x80x99 has a spreading habit while xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 exhibits a procumbent habit.
3. xe2x80x98POULrijkxe2x80x99 has semi-double, pure pink flowers, while xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 has double, coral-pink flowers.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety was to create a new and distinct variety for garden use with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant flowers;
2. Vigorous, but compact growth when propagated by cuttings;
3. Disease resistance;
4. A miniature rose suitable for use in hanging basket containers in the nursery industry.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization during winter of 1994 and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 was selected in the spring of 1995 by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the aforementioned hybridization.
Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 by traditional budding and rooted cuttings was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in July 1995. This initial and other subsequent asexual propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULgo003xe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.